For the Dancing and the Dreaming
by writergirl3005
Summary: It had always been, and will always be their song. Part of my 'Soundtrack of Life' series. Rewritten.


A/N: This is part of my Soundtrack of Life series, which has an accompanying playlist on Spotify. You can find the link on my profile page.

* * *

Stoick the Vast already knew the woman he was going to marry.

Valka Eldsdottir was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Not only was she an accomplished shieldmaiden, she was also filled with poise and grace, with a strong soul and a gentle heart. She was unusual to be sure; she actually believed that dragons could be reasoned with, though she kept her views to herself most of the time.

Stoick had always been a brave man. He charged headlong into battles, fought ferocious dragons and was the mightiest warrior in all of Berk.

But when it came to speaking to Valka, words failed him. He couldn't get two words out of his mouth without sounding like a total idiot. It had taken him much longer than he'd like to admit to being able to speak to her normally, a fact which brought no end of amusement to Valka.

"What would people say, Stoick?" she would tease him. "A brave warrior like you, being afraid of a little slip of woman like me."

"Would you call a Valkyrie a little slip of a woman?" he would retort (well, he would retort once he had enough presence of mind to be able to speak to her). "You are a brave warrior and an accomplished shieldmaiden. No one would call you a slip of anything."

After their engagement was finalised, they would often meet in a special spot on Berk. It was on one of the cliff sides, and it had the most magnificent views of the ocean, stretching as far beyond what the eyes could see. They would sit there, talking about themselves and their lives, laughing and watch the sunsets. It soon became their spot. It was where they shared their first kiss. It was where they confessed their love for each other.

And it was where they learnt to sing what they always thought of as their song.

"And gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me," they sang, arms still wrapped around each other.

On the day before their wedding, the song had much more exuberance that it usually did.

"Just think," said Stoick. "This time tomorrow, we shall be married. Nothing shall make me happier than being your husband."

"And nothing shall make me happier than being your wife," said Valka.

They shared a kiss to seal their promise.

Their wedding was a grand celebration, befitting the son of a chief, and filled with happiness and merrymaking.

"To love, to kiss to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming," Stoick and Valka sang, dancing energetically to the music. The entire day was wonderful and perfect. All the ceremonies went off without a single hitch, and there were no dragon attacks.

To them, it was an auspicious sign that their marriage would be happy and fulfilling.

* * *

Valka had been despondent the past few weeks. She had lost another child.

Stoick knew that Valka knew about the whispers of those in the village. Everyone worried that Valka had not yet borne him a child. No one said anything in his or Valka's presence, but they talked. He knew that they did. Gobber had told him as much.

"What are they saying Gobber?" Stoick demanded. "I want to know."

Gobber shook his head. "It's better if you don't know. The things people say are not fit to be repeated in polite company. I had to knock a few heads together to make them stop."

But even with Gobber's words, Stoick was still shocked, to say the least when Valka came to him that evening, sorrow on her face.

"Stoick," she said, trying her best to hold the tears at bay. "I think that you should divorce me."

"What?" he yelled, jumping to his feet. "Why would I even do that?"

Valka lost the battle against her tears, and they flowed freely down her face. "I have failed to give you a son. It would be better for you to divorce me and to marry a woman who can do so. A man in your position has no use for a barren woman such as myself."

Stoick's heart twisted. It seemed that people had not been as discrete as he had believed and Valka had heard what the villagers had gossipped about.

Stoick gathered Valka in his arms and held her close. Valka began crying in earnest. "I can't divorce you Valka, I won't," he said.

"Can't or won't?" she asked.

"Won't." He answered. "You are the woman of my heart. I will love you no matter what. This is merely a test set by the Gods, and I believe that if we pass this test, we would be rewarded beyond our wildest dreams."

Seeing that she was not yet convinced, Stoick whistled the first few notes of their song. "I'll swim and sail on savage seas," he began. "With ne'er a fear of drowning."

As Stoick continued singing the song, Valka slowly stopped crying. But this time, the song did not have the energy that it always had. This time, it was much more subdued. It was meant as a reaffirmation of their promise in the wake of all the troubles that had plagued them so far.

And as they sang, they regained their faith that they would be able to get through this together.

* * *

"My dearest one, my darling dear, you mighty words astound me," Valka sang, rocking Hiccup to sleep in her arms. He was such a beautiful baby, with Stoick's hair and her eyes. Her tiny son had been born too soon, but he had survived against all odds. He was a fighter to be sure. She had faith that he would grow up to be big and strong; she had faith that he would outgrow being a hiccup.

"But I would bring you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry," Stoick sang, gently brushing Hiccup's soft wispy hair. It was an odd choice for a lullaby, but Valka wanted Hiccup to know that song.

Once he was asleep, Valka gently placed him in his cradle. "Goodnight little one," she said as she placed a blanket around the baby, making sure to properly tuck it in. She placed Hiccup's stuffed dragon in his arms. "Sleep well, my son."

Stoick and Valka smiled as they watched their son sleep peacefully in his bed. "Come Valka," said Stoick. "We need to get some sleep as well. We'll have a busy day tomorrow."

Valka smiled and followed him into their bedroom.

Only hours later, a swarm of dragons descended on Berk. And their lives were changed forever.

* * *

"You should marry another woman Stoick."

"Hiccup needs a mother!"

"It would be better for a child to have two parents Stoick!"

"Valka would have wanted you to move on, she wouldn't want you to be alone for the rest of your life!"

The people who gave him advice were well-meaning, he knew that. He just couldn't imagine loving another woman. He had promised long ago, that the only woman he would love would be Valka. No one else. And he intended to keep that promise.

Every year, on the day of the anniversary, he went to their spot. And here he sang their song, both his parts and Valka's. Ḫe tried imitating a female voice for Valka's parts at first, but the less said about it, the better.

Hiccup loved to hear about his mother. And Stoick loved to tell him tales about her. The boy had been delighted when Stoick taught him the song that Stoick used to sing with Valka. "Will I sing this song with the one I love the most as well?" Hiccup had asked one day.

"Yes, you will," answered Stoick. Stoick had a suspicion that Hiccup already had a girl in mind. Perhaps he should have a talk with Astrid's parents. It was never too early to start such proceedings. "Your mother wished this for you as well. She wanted you to find a love that was as strong as ours had been. A love that would last even beyond death."

Hiccup looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you really think I will find a love like that?"

Stoick gave his son a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I have absolute faith that you would."

* * *

Stoick whisted their song. He could see how much it had startled Valka. He walked closer to her and almost whispered the first few lines to her. (With a mood-killing interruption from Gobber which earned Gobber glares from everyone in the room, and yes, this included the dragons).

"And love..." he sang, hoping that Valka would continue her part of the song. There were a few moments of silence, and Stoick sighed in disappointment. Valka probably did not-

"And love me for eternity," Valka sang. Her voice was as sweet and melodious as it was the first time he had heard her sing. The two of them eagerly dived into the song, laughing and dancing with as much vigour as they did when they were young. After they had finished the song (with another mood killing interruption from Gobber; Gods, did Gobber have no idea that he needed to keep quiet when he and Valka were having a moment?), Stoick proposed to Valka once more.

No words could have described his happiness once she agreed. Now he, Valka and Hiccup would be a family once again.

* * *

"To love, to kiss to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming," Hiccup and Astrid sang, energetically dancing to the music that was being played. Toothless and Stormfly were also dancing and flying in the air in time to the song.

Valka watched them with tears in her eyes. Stoick was supposed to be with her here on this happy day. The should have been together to celebrate this occasion. But he was not, and Valka was alone. But she was certain that Stoick would find some way to come back for this one day. She had faith in him.

But the villagers had understood her insistence - her need - at having the wedding at this spot. It was hers and Stoick's, but now it was Hiccup and Astrid's. At several points during the ceremony, she was certain that she felt and saw Stoick standing by her side. She smiled. It seemed as if Stoick would be attending their son's wedding after all. She was right to have faith in him.

* * *

Valka, now an old woman, made her way to the spot. She knew she was nearing the end of her life. Her life had been long and fulfilling, but there was an emptiness in her heart that would never be filled.

For the past few days, she had been setting all her affairs in order. She did her best to soothe her grandchildren, who felt the tense atmosphere but could not tell what was about to happen. Hiccup and Astrid knew. She did her best to comfort them as well, especially her son. Even though Hiccup had been a grown man for several years, it was still hard losing family, especially parents. But it seemed that he had accepted the inevitable.

Now, there was just one thing left for her to do. With a grace and energy she had not possessed for many years, she started to sing their song. Her voice was carried by the wind, Valka hoped that they would reach Stoick in Valhalla.

"If you promise me your heart.." She sang.

"And love me for eternity."

She turned to see Stoick, looking as young as he was the day they were joined in matrimony. She walked towards him and clasped her hands to his.

"My dearest one, my darling dear," she sang and started to dance with him.

Valka felt the years melting away from her as the song progressed, and once more, she was a young woman.

"And gladly ride the waves of life, if you will marry me." The last note hung in the air. With a smile, Valka walked arm in arm with Stoick to the afterlife.


End file.
